Tag: Capitola

On June 19, 2009, a vigil in honor of Father’s Day was held in front of the Military Recruiting Center on 41st Avenue in Capitola calling for an end to war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Demonstrators held signs and banners to “Shut Down the War Machine”, “Bring Our Fathers Home” and “Fund Peoples’ Needs! Not War & Bank Bailouts”. Neither the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines were open for business during the demonstration. Advocates for peace stuffed flowers and literature into the door jams of all four recruiting offices.

The HidroAysen project involves 3 dams on the Pascua River and 2 dams on the Baker River that would flood globally rare forest ecosystems and some of the most productive agricultural land in the Aysen region.

The Home Depot in Capitola, California was targeted on Sunday, May 3, 2009, with hundreds of stickers and handbills to publicize their involvement in a controversial development project in Patagonia, Chile.

“We’ve fought The Home Depot before and won.”

Almost ten years ago, Rainforest Action Network and others forced Home Depot to adopt wood product policies that removed old growth from their shelves. But their involvement in the HidroAysen project in Patagonia, Chile shows their commitments to ‘green business’ practices looking a lot like empty Public Relations.

Protests and vigils were held across the nation on March 24th following an announcement the day before of 4,000 dead US soldiers in Iraq. A demonstration was held at the Military Recruitment Center in Capitola, where a Santa Cruz County coalition known as People United for Peace (PUP) demanded “an immediate end to the killing and occupation in Iraq.” One woman was arrested for trespassing as she occupied the Army’s recruiting office and refused to leave until the occupation of Iraq is over.

After receiving standing ovations on Pacific Avenue and during the Christmas – Chanukah – Quanzaa – Solstice Celebration at the Friends’ Meeting House, Santa Cruz Art and Revolution sang songs of holiday cheer and liberation in Capitola on December 22nd as part of their 8th Annual Post-WTO Anti-Corporate Xmas Caroling mini-tour. Anti-corporate Xmas carols were performed in front of a busy credit union, the Capitola Mall and “Traitor Joze.” The familiar tunes with unfamiliar lyrics brought smiles to many people passing by, but were met with resistance from the Capitola Mall Security Guards who objected to songs about “how all the corporations in the mall are evil.”

Santa Cruz County activists, including the Santa Cruz gaggle of the Raging Grannies, demonstrated for peace in front of the Military Recruitment Center in Capitola on December 15th. The last time the Grannies sang songs at the recruitment center on June 26th, they refused to leave the entrance of the Army recruiters after being denied entry into the building and were eventually arrested and escorted to the police station in handcuffs. This time around, the Navy and other branches of the military wanted to avoid dealing with the Raging Grannies, so they, “Closed on December 15th, 2007 in support of gathering CARE package materials to send to the Sailors who are unavailable to be home during the holidays.”